N.J. officials ensnared in federal corruption probe are pushed to step down

Chris Pedota/The RecordProtestors at Hoboken City Hall demand the resignation of Mayor Peter Cammarano, who was arrested on charges of corruption.

From the Statehouse to mayors' offices, calls for the resignations of elected officials snared in a sweeping federal corruption probe intensified across the state today.

Angry residents gathered in the rain at City Hall in Hoboken tonight, demanding Mayor Peter Cammarano leave office. Dozens packed a hostile borough council meeting in Ridgefield, where officials passed a resolution demanding Mayor Anthony Suarez resign. In Secaucus, the town council was considering whether to ask the same of Mayor Dennis Elwell.

In Trenton, elected officials pushed for legislation that would amend the state Constitution to require the replacement of lawmakers who are indicted -- even before a conviction. The governor even hinted he might look for a way to strip officials caught up in the probe of their offices.

But it seemed none of the elected officials was headed for the door -- no one resigned.

The agitation came after the arrests last week of 44 public officials and religious leaders. Twenty-one public officials were swept up, including three mayors, two assemblymen and 14 appointed officials -- 11 from Jersey City.

Of the mayors and assemblymen accused of accepting bribes, only Hoboken's Peter Cammarano has announced his immediate plan -- he will remain on the job while vigorously fighting the allegations. But there is mounting pressure from inside and outside government for him to quit the office he has held for just four weeks.

A crowd of more than 200 gathered outside Hoboken City Hall tonight, calling on the mayor to go -- some of them chanting "F-B-I! F-B-I! F-B-I!" Cammarano is accused of taking a bribe from FBI informant Solomon Dwek. The 32-year-old mayor says he did nothing wrong.

Scott DeLea -- who stepped down last week from the newly elected mayor's transition team -- spoke at the gathering on behalf of Hoboken Revolt, a nonprofit agency formed last year to lobby for tax reform.

"Hoboken Revolt believes Mayor Cammarano cannot effectively govern the city while under this cloud of suspicion," DeLea said. "We have waited too long for change and good government. We will not wait a day longer."

Joe Epstein/The Star-LedgerHoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano arrives at City Hall for another day at his office today.

In Ridgefield, about 150 people packed a borough council meeting and spilled into an overflow room police set up at the local community center. Suarez received hugs from supporters outside before entering the center, where a shouting crowd was split between supporters and detractors. TV cameras filmed the mayor as he read a statement, his voice trembling.

"I want to assure you all that I am completely innocent," he said.

The resolution calling for his resignation passed, 4-2, though it carries no authority.

Republican Councilman Nicholas Lonzisero said the resolution encouraging the Democratic mayor -- whose relationship with the council has been contentious -- is the only available tool.

"We can ask him to resign. We cannot force him to resign. I think he should do the right thing," Lonzisero said before the meeting. "The quicker he resigns, the quicker we can put this crisis behind us and begin the healing."

After the vote on Suarez was taken, Lonzisero called for the resignation of the two Democratic councilmen who voted to support him. That resolution was defeated.

In Secaucus, Elwell's attorney, Thomas Cammarata, said his client will make a public statement Tuesday.

"He has pleaded not guilty," Cammarata said. "Obviously he, as every other citizen in the United States, is entitled to the presumption of innocence under the New Jersey Constitution and the United States Constitution."

All the same, many argued today that leaders invested with the public trust are inescapably tainted by the criminal complaints -- even with their judicial process in its infancy.

At a bill signing in Newark, Gov. Jon Corzine reiterated his request that all elected officials named in the complaints step down, including Assemblyman Robert Van Pelt (R-Ocean) and L. Harvey Smith (D-Hudson).

Chris Pedota/The RecordVirginia Hammer of Hoboken speaks to the crowd as she stands in front of a poster of Mayor Peter Cammarano.

"I really think it is very hard for any of the folks that have indictments to be able to function effectively," Corzine said.

A Corzine spokesman indicated the governor may explore whether he can take even more decisive action.

"For those who would put their needs before the public's, the governor has instructed his chief counsel to determine whether Corzine has the authority to strip an elected official of their duties," the spokesman said.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle talked about reviving a proposed bill involving public corruption.

Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande (R-Monmouth) co-sponsored a bill last year she said continues to languish in committee. The legislation would amend the state Constitution to require any indicted lawmaker be replaced by a party leader in his or her respective chamber.

"It's impossible to be taken seriously in your job if you're under criminal indictment," Casagrande said today. "If you were a police officer, or a teacher, you would not be permitted to continue working while facing criminal charges."

Resolutions have only symbolic power -- only a recall election can force mayors or other elected officials from office.

In Hoboken, Dawn Zimmer -- president of the city council who lost the mayoral election last month by 161 votes -- said it appears Cammarano cannot be forced out.

"We're in a difficult situation," she said. "The public is asking for the council to take action, and often asking for action it does not appear we can take."

Even a recall election, she said, cannot occur until a mayor has remained in office for one year.

Zimmer said she's working with the corporation counsel and state fiscal monitors to "explore all options," but she said she couldn't describe those in more detail.

By contrast, the backlash against officials in Jersey City has been more tempered.

Several days ago, Mayor Jerramiah Healy suspended without pay six of the eight officials caught up in the federal sting. Today, he dismissed a call for his own resignation by a small group of city activists.

"As I said previously, I have done nothing wrong and have a duty to serve the people of Jersey City who elected me to this office," Healy said.

Healy was not charged in the corruption sweep that netted a total of 16 people involved in Jersey City politics, including past and present city officials as well as former candidates and campaign workers. The mayor has acknowledged he is mentioned in the complaint as "public official No. 4."

But he is not accused of anything.

Complaints against Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, Jersey City Housing Authority Commissioner Edward Cheatum and political consultant Jack Shaw allege the trio accepted bribes from the FBI's confidential informant. In exchange, they promised to help the informant gain favor with public official No. 4.

Healy contends he was not involved in any wrongdoing, and that his office has sought advice from the U.S. Attorney's Office on how to "best secure the offices and records of those employees" who are charged.

The Associated PressSolomon Dwek, at right, with his lawyer, Michael Himmel, outside Federal Court in Newark in 2006.

Federal agents used Dwek -- a New Jersey developer who became an informant after his 2006 bust for bank fraud -- to ensnare 44 politicians, rabbis and other officials last week. But O'Donnell said today he wasn't biting.

Earlier this year, O'Donnell said he met with someone who identified himself as David Eisenbeck and claimed to be a high-powered Manhattan developer.

Their meeting took place this spring at the Chart House, a waterfront restaurant in Weehawken.

"I had a piece of fish, he had a side of mashed potatoes and French fries," O'Donnell said. "That's it."

After small talk about their families and the two high-rise towers "Eisenbeck" was proposing in Bayonne, O'Donnell said they walked to the parking lot.

Once there, he said, the developer reached into his trunk and pulled out an unsealed FedEx envelope with $5,000 cash.

O'Donnell, who works as a firefighter and volunteers for Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith, said he turned down the money and put the episode out of his mind.

"I just thought he was a mover and a shaker from Manhattan and that's how they do business there," he said. "I'm not into development, I don't know anything about it."

Last week, when news broke of the wide-ranging federal investigation, O'Donnell saw Eisenbeck's face again. Only then did he learn his real name was Solomon Dwek, and he was a federal informant.

"I'm just shocked," he said. "Who the hell knew?"

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Jersey City City Council President Mariano Vega, charged last week in the massive corruption and money-laundering probe, said today he has no plans to resign.

"I am not guilty of the allegations," he said in a statement. "In our system of justice we are presumed innocent until proven guilty. I do not intend to resign as council president nor as councilman."

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Assemblyman Ruben Ramos (D-Hudson) endorsed Peter Cammarano for mayor of Hoboken in May. Now he's calling on him to resign.

The Hoboken Democratic Party, where Ramos serves as chairman, unanimously asked Cammarano to step down after Thursday's arrests.

A special meeting of the Hoboken Democratic Party will be held Aug. 10 at Willie McBride's, a Hoboken pub, to adopt a formal resolution on the issue.

Cammarano, who has maintained his innocence, was arrested for taking bribes from a federal informant.

Hoboken City Council president Dawn Zimmer, who Cammarano defeated in the mayoral race this year, also has called for his resignation.

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NOAH ADDIS/THE STAR-LEDGERDepartment of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph Doria, in this March 2008 photo, resigned from his post last week.

A lawyer for Joseph Doria -- who resigned as Department of Community Affairs commissioner on Thursday after federal agents searched his home and office -- said he does not expect him to be charged with any crime.

"As we stand here today, he has not been charged with violating any federal law, or any law for that matter," John Azzarello said. "I'm confident that will remain the case."

He declined to comment on why Doria is under federal scrutiny, what materials were seized from his home, nor whether Doria met with Solomon Dwek, the developer-turned-federal-informant.

Doria wasn't arrested in the sweep that netted 44 people last week but Gov. Jon Corzine asked for his resignation hours after federal agents conducted their search.